Concepts and terminology
This section introduces the fundamental concepts of a Cloud and its artifacts.
Cloud
A Cloud refers to a distinct IT environment that is designed for remote provisioning of scalable and measured IT resources. The term originated as a metaphor for the internet to describe a network of networks providing remote access to a set of decentralized IT resources. Before Cloud computing was a formal IT segment, a Cloud symbol was commonly used to represent the Internet in a variety of specifications and mainstream documentation of web-based architectures.
IT resource
An IT resource is a physical or a virtual IT-related artifact that can be either software-based, such as a virtual server or a custom software program, or hardware-based, such as a physical server or a network device.
On-premise
As a distinct and remotely accessible environment, a Cloud represents an option for the deployment of IT resources. An IT resource hosted in a conventional IT enterprise within an organizational...